millennialism

Millennialism, in Christian eschatology, is the belief in a coming thousand-year reign of Christ on earth or a symbolic period of righteousness between Christ's first and second coming. The term derives from Latin mille and annus. The idea has roots in early Christian writings and the Book of Revelation, particularly Revelation 20, though biblical interpretation varies widely.

There are three main frameworks. Premillennialism holds that Christ will return before (or to inaugurate) a literal thousand-year reign on earth. Within this category, dispensational premillennialism teaches a distinct rapture of believers preceding a tribulation and a future, visible millennial kingdom. Amillennialism rejects a literal thousand-year reign, viewing the millennium as a symbolic period—often the present age between Christ’s first coming and his return—or as Christ reigning in heaven with the saints. This view is common in Catholic, Orthodox, and many Protestant traditions. Postmillennialism asserts that Christ will return after a generalized, long-lasting earthly millennium characterized by Christian ethics, institutional progress, and the spread of the gospel.

In modern scholarship and public discourse, millennialism is discussed as one tradition of eschatology among others, with debates about biblical interpretation, historical development, and practical impact on politics and culture. Some secular uses describe a millennial era of political or social change, though the term is most closely associated with Christian hopes for a future divine reign.